A fed-up Victorian tradie has taken matters into his own hands, filling a pothole himself after becoming frustrated with the condition of the state’s roads.
Melbourne tradie Nigel Carter and some friends recently bought a bag of bitumen from Bunnings and set about repairing a pothole.
The group can be seen laying the bitumen before reversing over it with their car to help set it in place.
“We just went to Bunnings and bought some bitumen. We thought, since we pay a thousand bucks a year for rego and the potholes don’t seem to get fixed, we thought we’d do it ourselves,” he said.
Bitumen costs about $36 for 20 kilograms at Bunnings.
Carter admitted the repair might not have been perfect, but said the group wanted to help.
“At least we did try to do something about it,” he said.
The light-hearted effort comes as Victoria faces growing concerns about the state of its roads.
An Auditor-General’s report found 48 per cent of state-managed roads were rated poor or very poor in 2024, compared with 39 per cent in 2021.
A recent RACV survey of more than 6,000 people found 71 per cent of respondents listed potholes and deteriorating road surfaces as their biggest road safety concern.
Earlier this month, a 71-year-old motorcyclist died after reportedly hitting a pothole on the Western Highway near Ballarat.
Monash University professor Jayantha Kodikara said potholes could become a serious safety issue.
“Potholes are not simply a maintenance inconvenience,” he said.
“Once road deterioration reaches this stage, it can become a serious safety issue,” he said.
The Victorian Government has announced $352 million for road maintenance and promised to double the number of potholes repaired this year from 250,000 to 500,000.
The Auditor-General has estimated more than $3 billion a year would be needed to maintain road pavement conditions at their current level.
Image: Instagram
